Reason to Believe
by CPD5021George
Summary: This is a sequel to "No Surrender". Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton are finally in a relationship. Work with Intelligence goes on as usual, until a body is found. Clearly Upstead
1. Chapter 1

_This is a sequel to "No Surrender". Chapter 1 picks up right after the ending of that story, and is more like a prologue. It might start slowly and cosy, but don't let yourself be fooled. Trouble is on the way with a new case._

Hailey Upton woke up long before the alarm went off. She didn't want to get up just yet, wanted to cherish the time with *him*. Jay Halstead. Her partner, friend, and now her boyfriend. What an amazing thought. Hailey and Jay were a couple.

She and Jay had finally managed to admit their feelings for each other during the latest case for Intelligence; and suddenly everything fell into place for the two of them. The case had been bad for Hailey, as her nemesis Ronald Booth had hired three men to terrorize Hailey. She had been close to losing her job and her house. Jay had been there all the way. Even before Intelligence could step in, Jay had stood beside her. Even though he had told her she would have managed alone just fine, she knew that without him she would have collapsed.

Now the case was closed; the three criminals were convicted; Booth was transferred to a prison out of state. They could go back to business as usual, which of course was far from a normal nine-to-five job when you worked in the Intelligence Unit with the Chicago Police Department.

Usually she could sleep in on a Saturday, but today the whole unit and the guys from Firehouse 51 had agreed to help Hailey clean up her house after the fire set by Booth's companions. So she would have to get up eventually.

Slowly she turned around to face a still sleeping Jay. She had seen him, looked at him so often, yet now that they were a couple, she finally allowed herself to look at him differently. His face looked so young, so vulnerable in his sleep, the long eyelashes over his green eyes, the freckles, the fine laugh lines around his eyes, the sensitive line of his mouth, the stubbly beard. The muscular arms and chest. He was the most loyal person she knew, the kindest, most passionate person. He could be so sweet, so tender, so funny.

If you looked at him superficially, you might take Jay Halstead for a cocky, extremely self-assured and slightly arrogant ex-military turned cop, who had a clear, stubborn agenda, who seemed to know exactly what he wanted, what he considered right. Yet he was so much more than that. He had his flaws, like anyone. He could be a hothead at times, too stubborn, would go against everyone's better judgement, would keep to himself too much, would not recognize his own problems. But still – he had captured Hailey's heart. She had trusted him from the moment they met, and that mutual trust – albeit tested to the limit at times – had turned into a deep friendship and love eventually.

It was still early, the alarm wouldn't go off for an hour, and Hailey decided to wake him up. She put her hand on his cheek and planted a soft kiss on his mouth. Jay let out a soft groan.

"I could wake up like that every day," he mumbled.

"I can take care of that," Hailey answered with a smile. She put her hands on his shoulders, pushed him on his back softly, placed herself on top of him, and lowered her head to his. Kissed him passionately. She didn't have to wait long for his reaction. Jay kissed her back, wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, pressed her body close to his, his hands were all over her body, and soon the world was forgotten.

* * *

Later than planned they got up, took a quick shower, and drove to Hailey's house. As promised, their friends and colleagues from Intelligence and Firehouse 51 arrived from 8 am onwards. Hailey was moved by the sheer amount of people showing up to help her, it was almost too much. As she was still shaken by the fact that someone had set her house on fire, Jay automatically took over the planning. He and Kelly Severide agreed on who would work where, would do what, so that by the end of the weekend all rooms would be habitable again.

Jay wanted to make sure Hailey didn't overdo it today, as she had been injured just the day before, but he decided to keep quiet. Hailey didn't like it when someone made too much fuss about her. So he decided to watch out, but keep his worries to himself.

Quickly they agreed on what to do: One group went downstairs, disassembled the now useless kitchen and the furniture in the adjacent living room to get rid of everything. Hailey asked Kim Burgess and Sylvie Brett to help her in the bedroom. The furniture was still good, but needed to be cleared out, cleaned; and the walls needed a new painting.

"So...," Sylvie finally said when the three of them were alone in Hailey's bedroom. "You and Jay?"

"Yes, me and Jay," Hailey answered with a smile.

"That's a surprise," Sylvie said.

"Nah, not really," Kim laughed. "It was a surprise when she hooked up with Adam, but this... no, not a surprise to anyone."

"It was a surprise to me," Hailey answered. "As for Adam – yeah, that too. I hope he'll be fine with that. He's a great guy. I don't want to hurt him, I still care for him. Just not like that."

Kim looked at Hailey. It was unusual that she confided in others – beside Jay – like that. Kim had her own thoughts about Hailey and Adam's relationship, and in a way was glad that was over. But Hailey and Jay, that sounded about right.

"And what does Voight say?" Sylvie asked. "I thought he didn't like in-house romance."

Hailey shrugged. "I don't know. He wasn't happy about me and Adam, but didn't say anything. He knows about me and Jay, yet hasn't commented so far. I hope this means we have to prove to him that our relationship doesn't interfere with our jobs, and then we'll be ok."

Hailey looked out the window and saw Jay outside. Her heart skipped a beat.

Both Sylvie and Kim noticed how her expression changed and exchanged a grin. Yes, Hailey was head over heels.

* * *

Things went smoothly, by the end of the day the whole ground floor was empty, cleaned and ready for new painting, the upper floor was halfway done already.

Jay had ordered a massive amount of takeout food, so they all gathered in the empty house and had an improvised dinner of pizza, Chinese food and drinks. Hailey visibly enjoyed the time and was more relaxed than usually, and she was completely overwhelmed by all the support.

And to make it even better, Kelly approached her and Jay.

"Listen, Hailey," he said. "We've come very far already, so if you trust us, go furniture shopping tomorrow. We'll have everything done here by the time you come back."

Hailey's eyes widened. "Wow, that's fast." She looked at Jay. "Ready for some hardcore shopping?"

Jay grinned. "Here's to our first major relationship test," he answered. "If we can do that, we can do everything."

Both Hailey and Kelly burst out in laughter.

"Good luck, Halstead," Kelly smirked. "That's a job only for the toughest of us."

* * *

Shopping for a new kitchen, sofa and coffee table turned out surprisingly smooth. Both Jay and Hailey were easygoing, didn't have too many special wishes. Both wanted something that looked ok and did what it was supposed to do. Nothing super fancy or luxurious. And Jay didn't try to talk Hailey out of anything she liked, for him it was basically her decision. The fact that Hailey's insurance would cover the costs helped as well.

They enjoyed their first actual "couple task", Hailey had ordered a new kitchen and living room furniture quickly. They were in a great mood when they returned to Hailey's house in the early afternoon.

"We didn't expect you back so early," Kelly greeted them. "Job cancelled?"

"Nah, everything done," Hailey answered matter-of-factly.

"What? Kitchen and couch?" Stella asked. "How is that possible?"

"What's difficult about that?" Jay asked back with a proud little grin. "We looked around, saw something Hailey liked, and that was it."

Stella and Kelly looked from one to the other as if this were the greatest miracle.

"Come on in, have a look," Kelly said. "We're almost done."

Hailey took Jay's hand and followed Kelly inside her house. It was unbelievable what her friends and colleagues had done. The ground floor looked like new, had a new coat of painting, was clean and waited for the new furniture. The stairs and upper hallway also looked spotless. And the rooms upstairs were ready for her to move back in right away.

"If you need anything until the new kitchen and furniture arrive, just let us know," Kelly added. "We'll find something."

"How can I ever thank you," Hailey replied. "This is... it's … guys, you're the best. When everything's complete, I'll invite you all over for a big barbecue."

Jay looked at her, surprised. Inviting so many people into her house, that was huge for Hailey. He knew, she felt connected to the unit and the people from the firehouse, but she didn't consider most of them friends and had always kept her distance. Her walls began to crumble, now that she saw that they actually cared enough to help her out like this. He was just as reluctant as Hailey when it came to opening up to others, so he understood how thankful Hailey was to everyone.

"I don't think I need interim furniture," she decided.

"No, you won't." Jay agreed with a soft smile. "You stay with me as long as you want."

Everyone was too tired to go to Molly's after work was done, so Jay and Hailey once again organized take-out food, so that nobody had to go home hungry. It was a good ending to the exhausting weekend.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks passed without any major disturbances. A lot of work for the unit, but nothing personal, no nerve-wrecking cases. Jay and Hailey's relationship so far hadn't caused any issues within the unit. Things were going smoothly, and they managed to keep their personal life out of the job.

Hailey's house was done, all furniture was replaced, so the two of them alternated between Hailey's place and Jay's.

Life was good for Hailey and Jay, and all of Intelligence. But of course it wouldn't stay like that.

Things started to change one hot Monday morning, when Jay and Hailey were called to a crime scene in Bridgeport.

A call went out to Chicago PD that a body had been found, and since Jay and Hailey were close to the scene while driving into work, they answered it. Within minutes they arrived at the house at South Emerald Avenue. Uniforms were already there, when they entered the premises through a well-kept front garden. Everything looked very nice from the outside, clean, inviting. The body was in the downstairs living room, lying on the floor, face down.

Hailey walked in after Jay, who suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hailey, get Voight here, now." he just said, then stepped back, pale as a sheet.

Without questioning him, she immediately reached for her phone, called their sergeant. "Boss, it's Upton. Halstead and I are at the crime scene in South Emerald. And we need you here!"

Voight didn't bother asking what was going on, just confirmed to be on his way.

Now Hailey turned to Jay. "What's wrong?" she just asked, putting her hand on his arm.

Jay closed his eyes, leaned against the wall.

"Jay!" Hailey insisted. "Who is this woman?"

"This is Bunny Fletcher," he answered.

It took Hailey a few seconds to remember who that was. "You mean, like in Lindsay's mom Bunny Fletcher?"

Jay nodded. "The exact one."

"O-kay." Hailey swallowed hard. "And what are we going to do now?"

"Secure the crime scene," Jay answered, slowly pulling himself together. "And leave the rest to Voight."

* * *

They started to check with the police officers already on scene, and within what felt like just a few seconds, Voight was there.

"Upton, what is it?" he barked, clearly worried.

"Sarge," Jay approached Voight. "You should see this." He guided his boss inside, showed him the body. "This is Bunny."

"Hm," Voight just said, stepping closer to the body. "I'd be lying to say I didn't see that one coming for years now. What has been done so far?"

Hailey gave a quick summary. "When we arrived, uniforms were already here. They had been called by the next-door neighbor, who had heard yelling and gunshots. But when the officers arrived, there was nobody here but the victim. We called the crime techs and were about to question the neighbor."

"Good." Voight answered. "Go and do that. Then canvas the neighborhood. I will call the others in to assist." He approached Bunny Fletcher's dead body, leaned in closer, hands on his legs.

Once outside, Hailey looked at Jay. "What do you think?"

Jay shrugged. "I think she hasn't changed after Erin left."

"You ok?"

"Sure, why not." Jay nodded. "Let's go and check next door."

Hailey eyed Jay suspiciously. Everything concerning Erin was still a sore spot with Jay, she was well aware of that. She would keep an eye on him but didn't push the issue - yet.

They approached the house next door, knocked.

An elderly woman opened the door.

"Chicago PD, I'm Detective Upton, this is my partner Detective Halstead," Hailey introduced them. "You reported gunshots next door, Ms…"

"Zanetti," she answered. "Maria Zanetti. Yes, Detective, I called you. Please come in."

She opened the door, went ahead. Hailey and Jay followed her into an immaculate living room.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea?" she asked.

Both refused.

"No thanks, Ma'am." Jay said. "We don't want to cause you any trouble. Would you please let us know what happened earlier, when you called 911?"

"I already told the officer," she answered.

"Please guide us through everything again, just to make sure we get everything correctly." Hailey requested with an encouraging smile.

"OK then. It was 7:15am, the time when I always get up to feed my cat," she started. "I always do it at the same time, the cat can be annoying otherwise. I had finished my first cup of coffee, was ready for breakfast, when I heard someone yelling next door. The window was open, so it was loud."

"Was it a man or a woman you heard?" Jay interrupted.

"Both. First a woman yelled, then a man, and finally both of them at the same time. Then suddenly there were shots."

"Did you recognize the voices?" Jay asked again. "Were these the people that lived next door?"

Ms. Zanetti tilted her head, thinking. "The woman, yes I have seen her before. Not sure if she lived there, but I saw her next door sometimes. After Mr. Marconi's wife had left."

"So Mr. Marconi lives next door?" Hailey wanted to know.

"Yes, Mr. Marconi. He has lived there for a long time. I would have recognized his voice."

"OK, that's very helpful, Ma'am," Jay said. "Now about the shots. Are you sure you heard gunshots? One can easily take other noises for gunshots."

"Young man, my late husband was a hunter, I know what gunshots sound like," Ms. Zanetti insisted. "I heard several gunshots, three or four. And then there was silence. I didn't want to go over there, so I called 911."

"That was exactly right, Ms. Zanetti," Hailey said. "You were right not to check it yourself. Did you see anyone leave?"

"No, there was nobody. And I didn't hear any doors closing either, as I said. It was quiet after the gunshots."

Jay and Hailey exchanged a quick look, then both stood up from their seats. "Thank you once again for your help, Ms. Zanetti, you have been very helpful," Hailey said. "We or our colleagues might have to contact you again, if we have further questions, but for the moment that's it."

* * *

"Did you take a closer look at Bunny?" Jay asked Hailey, once they were outside. "I saw blood but didn't check for the gunshot wounds."

"No, Jay. Let's head back inside and talk to the tech guys. If we have only one gunshot wound, there must be further bullets."

Voight was still in the living room, looking at Bunny Fletcher's body.

When he noticed Jay and Hailey, he looked up briefly.

"Anything?" he wanted to know.

Hailey quickly explained to him what they had learned from the neighbor. In the meantime, the other members of Intelligence arrived, listened to what Hailey said.

"The medical examiner will have to check the body," Voight concluded. "They should be here any minute. And the crime techs will search the room for further bullet holes, other traces. You split up and check the rest of the house, look around if you find any traces of forced entry, go through the papers. Find out if Bunny lived here, anything about the owner of the house. You know the drill."

"Copy that," all confirmed.

Ruzek eyed Jay. "Now that's a surprise," he commented. "Did you contact Lindsay?"

Jay shook his head, irritated. "Why should I do that, Ruz? I don't even have her phone number."

"Right," Adam said. "So I guess Voight will inform her."

"Whatever," Jay shrugged and walked away.

Adam's eyes followed Jay. "All right then," he mumbled. Perhaps he should not have touched that subject.

While crime tech was checking the living room thoroughly, the medical examiner picked up the body, and Intelligence checked the other rooms. Everything looked normal, no disturbances, no open closets, nobody had visibly rummaged through any of the closets. No signs of forced entry. It didn't look like a robbery; Bunny and her killer must have known each other.

* * *

Intelligence headed back to 21st.

In the office, the regular work began: They prepared the whiteboard with photos and general information, checked back with the lab and the medical examiner, started going through data online.

Jay stood at the whiteboard, gathering all the information.

"The house belonged to one Johnny Marconi," Kevin read what found online. "He's 59 years old and has lived there for 35 years. He's divorced, his wife is not listed anywhere here, so we need to dig deeper to locate her. No children. Listed in the Police databases for multiple arrests connected to drug trading, illegal gambling, but no convictions."

"Barbara 'Bunny' Fletcher," Adam continued, reading from his screen. "58 years old, divorced, multiple arrests, last one a bit over two years ago for possession and trade of narcotics. Two children…"

"Yes, we know that," Voight interrupted. "Burgess, check with crime lab, see if they could retrieve finger prints, bullets, any traces of other people in the house. – Atwater, you talk to the medical examiner about her findings. – Ruzek, Halstead, Upton, you canvass the neighborhood, talk to all neighbors, check with your CI's connected to the Outfit. If there's anyone else you think if, contact them too."

"Should we contact…" Kim started, but was interrupted by Voight immediately. "I will contact anyone who needs to know. Now hit it." With that Voight turned around and went into his office.

Kim and Hailey both shrugged, the guys didn't react at all, but everyone knew what to do and left the office.

* * *

Hailey didn't have a chance to talk to Jay privately, as they shared the car with Adam. And she knew better than to address any personal issues with Adam in the car. That wouldn't be fair towards Jay.

"So, any ideas?" Adam tried small-talk.

"Not yet," Jay just answered.

"Do you know any of Bunny's friends or relatives?" Adam asked again. "People who might have a beef with her?"

"Everyone had a beef with her," Jay answered. "She was not exactly a likeable person. I've always tried to keep away from her as much as possible. She was toxic."

"Perhaps we can go through everything you know later, when we're back in the office," Hailey suggested. Jay gave here a quick smile and nodded.

By now they had arrived in South Emerald, parked the car. They quickly agreed on who would go in which direction, and then were on their separate ways.

For the next two hours the three knocked on doors, talked to neighbors, people they saw in the streets. The result was not promising, nobody had seen or heard anything suspicious. The murder had happened early in the morning, people had either been asleep or already on their way to work. Some had noticed what must have been the gunshots, but that was it. No suspicious, unknown cars or people in the neighborhood. Despite the fact that Marconi had been arrested several times, nobody in the neighborhood had noticed any trouble, never too many visitors or loud noise. The police had shown up several times, but the arrests obviously had taken place somewhere else, or had been performed in a very discreet way.

Some had noticed Bunny in the last few months, coming and going, but that was it.

The unit gathered back in the office later, collected what they had found.

"What do we have?" Voight asked the team.

Jay started, telling everybody else what they had found out, respectively not found out.

Kevin was next. "The medical examiner found one bullet in Fletcher's head, which was the cause of death. Nothing else, no defensive wounds, no signs of a struggle or older injuries. No signs of rape. No gunshot residue on her body, the bullet must have been shot from a distance of 4-5 feet. She must have known the offender and not suspected anything. The bullet is currently in the lab."

Kim followed. "The techs found three more bullets in the room, and shell cases. No finger prints on these, but they are still working on the bullets, trying to find matches to other crime scenes. They isolated several fingerprints in the house, most from Marconi, upstairs only Marconi's and Fletcher's. It seems they were together, given that her fingerprints were in all rooms, including bedroom and bathroom. They confirmed that there were no signs of forced entry."

"I know some people who did business with Marconi," Voight added. "I will talk to them later today."

"You need backup?" Jay asked.

"No, Jay." Voight replied. "I'll let you all know if I need help."


	3. Chapter 3

At home Jay and Hailey sat down for dinner, Hailey watched Jay closely, wondering. _Did he have any issu__es with this case? Was he ok? Should he back out of this? Was there anything she could do?_

"Ask, Hailey," Jay suddenly interrupted her thoughts. He smiled softly. "You know you can ask me anything."

She smiled back at him. "I know, Jay. I was just wondering if you need to talk about this case."

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I mean, I've never liked Bunny, that's no secret. I've never trusted her. But I haven't thought about her for a long time."

"Still, this brings back Erin."

"Yeah, it does." He looked down, then back up, directly into Hailey's eyes. "You know I'm over her, don't you?"

"Yes, babe, I know."

"Good." Jay smiled, relieved in a way. "So for the moment it's just another case, I guess."

"Sure," Hailey agreed. "Just promise to talk to me, whenever it ceases to be that to you."

"Promise."

As if on cue Jay's phone rang. He looked at it. An unknown number.

"Halstead," he reluctantly answered the phone. Hailey watched his face turn to stone.

"You should talk to Voight," was all he said after having listened for a few seconds only and ended the call.

Hailey looked at Jay curiously. "Let me guess…"

Jay nodded. "Yeah. That was Erin."

"You will eventually have to talk to her, you know that."

"Eventually yes, but not now."

Hailey pulled her chair next to his, wrapped her arms around him.

"I am still over her," Jay said. "It's just… not easy."

"I know, babe." Hailey kissed his cheek softly. "And I'm here with you."

Instead of answering, Jay put his arms around Hailey, held her close, grateful that she was there.

* * *

In the morning all were at 21st early, earlier than usual. Jay hadn't slept well, neither had Hailey; and it seemed the others were just as anxious about the case.

Voight immediately started.

"I talked to a few people who know Marconi," he explained.

"From your social club?" Jay wanted to know.

"Yes, from the social club." Voight answered, a bit impatient. "Marconi is involved in dealing narcotics, also in illegal gambling. I've got some names of people he works with, and addresses. - Atwater!" He waved Kevin to the whiteboard, who had photos and papers in his hand.

Kevin put a few photos up on the board, explained how these people were related to Marconi.

"This guy here," he pointed to a photo of a bearded, dark haired mid-forties male. "Frank Delucci. He has been in the gambling business, owns several bars. We suspect illegal gambling dens in some of them. Drugs may be an issue, too. And that guy," he points to another photo of a pale, greyish-blond guy that appears to be at least 60. "That's Dan Anderson. Officially he sells and buys bar equipment. That probably means slot machines, cheap alcohol, drugs."

"There are three bars in question," Voight summarized. "Halstead, Upton, you go to the one on 31st. Atwater, Burgess, you go to Adams Street. Ruzek, you and I will check out the one on 18th. Talk to the employees, look if you find anything suspicious."

"Copy that."

* * *

Within a few minutes they were on the road.

"So, you think Voight's friends from the social club are involved?" Hailey asked Jay.

"With Voight you never know," Jay shrugged. "These people know a lot, however. I wonder what he's not telling us."

"Jay!" warning voice.

"What?"

"Jay, don't push it with Voight. You know how that turns out." Hailey said. "Perhaps his friends know something, but we will get all the information we need. It's Erin's mother, after all."

"Yeah," he admitted. "I hope you're right. Let's see what we find out."

"What do you think about the case anyway, Jay? Any ideas?"

"No ideas at all," Jay said. "It can be anything. Marconi is involved in gambling, drugs. And Bunny – she stuck her nose into everything. Perhaps she was involved, perhaps she annoyed the wrong people once again, perhaps she wanted to get something out of it. Hell, you'd think she would have learned, after being arrested by the Feds." He shook his head.

"Or simply wrong place, wrong time," Hailey suggested. "If Marconi is as bad as it sounds, that might be enough. Perhaps her killer wanted to get to Marconi by shooting her."

"But it's still strange," Jay said. "In his home neighborhood he comes across as the decent guy, the neighbors respected him. And from what we know he's a career criminal."

"Wouldn't be the first. It's not all street gangs, especially with the Outfit," Hailey replied. "And the big shots often seem to be the nicest guys in private."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

When they arrived at the bar in question, they found the door locked. The guest room appeared empty, so they decided to check the back entrance. That door was in fact open, so Hailey knocked.

"Chicago PD, open up, please," she shouted.

At first nothing happened, then they heard noise inside. Someone approached the door, opened it. A young woman, no older than 20, slim, dressed in shorts, a shirt and an apron, stood in front of them.

"What can I do for you, officers?" she asked after a quick look at the badge Hailey showed her.

"It's detective," Hailey answered. "Detective Upton, this is Detective Halstead. Could we talk to you, please?"

The woman seemed very insecure, looked around, and reluctantly opened the door. "Come in, Detectives."

She stood in the middle of the room, fidgeting with her apron.

Jay decided to let Hailey do the talking, took a step back.

"Do you work here?" Hailey asked, very calm.

"Y-yes," she stuttered. "I'm Lisa Delucci. My uncle owns the place. I was cleaning here."

"Ms Delucci, do you know this man?" Hailey showed her a photo of Marconi on her phone.

Lisa Delucci looked at the photo, hesitated a moment.

"Do you know this man?" Hailey insisted.

"I might have seen him around," she admitted. "But that's all."

Hailey switched to a photo of Bunny Fletcher. "What about this woman?"

"Yes, I saw her with the man you showed me before." Lisa Delucci nodded.

"When? And where?" Hailey asked again.

She shrugged.

"Ms. Delucci," Jay interfered. "We're investigating a homicide. I would recommend you answer our questions. Otherwise we have to take you in and charge you with obstruction."

Her dark eyes widened. "I... I..." she stuttered, clearly intimidated by Jay.

"They were here three days ago," she finally said. "They talked to my uncle. But I didn't listen. And the woman, she was here again a day later. Without the man. I think she had a fight with my uncle."

"About what?" Hailey, softer again. "Listen, we need to know as much as possible. As Detective Halstead said, this is a homicide investigation."

"She was yelling at him, but I only saw them through the door."

"When exactly was she here?" Jay asked again.

"On Sunday, around 2pm. Not for long. She stormed out after a few minutes."

"OK, thank you," Hailey finished, handed a card to Lisa Delucci. "Please let us know if you remember anything else. Or if this man shows up here again. In that case, please call me."

She nodded eagerly. "I will do that."

* * *

Back in the car, Jay and Hailey discussed what to do next. Marconi and Delucci had met just recently. And Bunny was somehow involved.

"I think we should pay Delucci a visit," Jay said.

"We will definitely do that," Hailey agreed. "But let's go back to the precinct first. Perhaps Voight wants to be there when we go to Delucci's home address."

"Yeah, that's safer," Jay nodded.

"The might have found him in one of the other bars already." Hailey added.

So they headed back to the office. And slowly the others reappeared as well.

None of them had found Delucci. Voight and Ruzek had talked to Anderson, however, without actual results.

"So," Voight concluded. "We know that Bunny and Marconi had met with Delucci, and they had a fight..." at that point he stopped, because someone came up the stairs.

Erin Lindsay.

"Hank," she almost yelled, quickly approaching him.

A surprised Voight hugged Erin. "Hey, kiddo."

Erin pulled back, greeted everyone. She went from one to the other, hugged Kevin, Adam and Kim, exchanged a brief almost-hug with Hailey, and then stood in front of Jay, who became very rigid and tense immediately.

"Jay," she almost whispered.

"Erin," he just answered, not moving. "Sorry for your loss."

She hugged him, but still he didn't move at all, didn't reciprocate the hug. Erin quickly pulled back.

"Thank you for taking over my mom's case, guys" Erin said. "Do you already have any leads?"

Voight had in the meantime switched the whiteboard around, hiding the photos and information.

"Erin, this is not in Fed jurisdiction."

"But you can tell me!"

"Erin, it is not advisable for you to investigate in your mother's murder." Voight insisted, then his voice became softer. "Come into my office, I'll fill you in."

Erin nodded, and both vanished into his office, where they talked for the next half hour.

* * *

Outside the atmosphere was strained. Nobody quite knew what to say. Adam, Kim and Kevin had no issues with Erin, they were glad to see her. Jay and Hailey – that was another story, obviously.

They all repeated what they had learned in the morning, which wasn't too much, checked the police databases, basically waited for Voight and Lindsay to get out of Voight's office.

When the door finally was opened again, Voight took his place at the whiteboard, leaning against the door frame. Erin immediately approached Jay.

"Jay," she said. "I'll be in town until we – I mean you know who killed my mother. Perhaps we can have a drink tonight? Talk?"

Jay shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Jay! Please! I was thinking perhaps I could stay with you?" She looked up at him sweetly. "No, Erin, that won't be possible."

"Well, perhaps tomorrow then." She pulled back and left. Jay wasn't sure if he had discouraged her or not. He was clearly shaken up, more than he had expected.

* * *

The unit spent the rest of their day checking official data, police databases, everything they could find online, for connections between the all involved persons, trying to find the best angles to hit. They would pay a visit to Delucci's home address the next morning. And they needed to find Marconi.

Jay and Hailey left the office together to go home. Before Jay started the car, he looked at Hailey, very tense and with a sad look in his eyes.

"Hailey, I will drop you off at your place, and then drive home. I need to figure this out on my own, if you don't mind."

Hailey looked at Jay, incredulous yet very determined. "Jay, I do mind very much. I will not let you stay alone. I will not let you run away."

"But I need to figure this out. Alone." Jay protested weakly.

"What exactly do you need to figure out, babe?" Hailey asked, softly now, her hand caressing his thigh. "What has changed since last night?"

Jay didn't answer

"Do you want to be with Erin?"

"No." Jay spit out the word.

"Do you still love her?"

"Of course not." Louder.

"Do you still want to propose to her?"

"No, of course not!" Jay almost yelled.

"So what do you want to figure out?" Hailey asked again, very softly. Jay didn't answer, so she continued. "Babe, I won't let you run like Erin did. I will give you space, of course, but I won't let you run away from me and dig a hole for yourself. We're in this together. Believe it or not. I love you, and I know you love me. And I won't let Erin or you or anyone destroy that." She put her hands on his cheeks, didn't allow him to evade her.

Jay looked at Hailey, very insecure at first, but slowly relaxing a bit. He nodded. "OK."

She smiled tenderly.

"I'm scared, Hailey," Jay admitted. "I'm so scared to do something stupid."

"Don't be. Believe in us. And believe in yourself. You're not stupid."

"Well, I can be pretty stupid," Jay answered with a sarcastic grin, then turned serious immediately. "Hailey, you're the reason I can believe in something, in myself."


	4. Chapter 4

When they were at home, together in Jay's place, Jay actually opened up to Hailey. He had decided that he would not run away, that he would share his thoughts with his girlfriend. When they sat down on the couch together, he started talking. Hesitantly at first, then more and more. Almost as if he were talking to a therapist, only better.

Hailey didn't interrupt, just listened, her hand reassuringly on his arm, while she looked at him, attentive to his every word.

Jay talked about his relationship with Erin, about the ups and downs, the break-up. And about his fears. And he realized slowly how different this relationship with Hailey was, how much more at ease he was with Hailey than he had ever been with Erin, how much he could confide in Hailey, trust her.

There was not much Hailey could say when he had finished, so she simply pulled him into her arms. "Thank you, Jay."

"For what?"

"For trusting me. For staying."

He smiled softly. "The best decision ever. But I can't guarantee that there won't be problems ahead."

"I know, babe."

* * *

The next morning, Jay arrived at 21st much more relaxed than the day before. He was pretty much in his own world when he entered the building, though, and flinched when Trudy Platt called him over to her desk.

He let go of Hailey's hand and approached Trudy. "What's up, Sarge?"

Trudy waited until Hailey was gone up the stairs.

"How are you, Jay?"

"Why?"

"Halstead, you know exactly why." Trudy rolled her eyes, pretending to be impatient.

"I'm ok, I guess," he admitted slowly. "It was weird yesterday, but now I'm good."

She looked at Jay, doubting. "Listen, don't let this case push you backwards, ok? It's a tough situation for you. No need to deny that. But you don't want to lose what you have right now."

He smiled. "No, Sarge, I won't. And Hailey won't allow it."

"All right then. But be careful, will you? And get help if you need it."

"Yes, I will. Thanks."

"Yeah, right. Now go."

Smiling to himself Jay walked upstairs. Interesting, who was worried about him. He would never have expected that a few months ago.

* * *

Hailey already sat at her desk when Jay entered and looked at him with barely hidden curiosity. Jay just smiled and winked at her. He sat down at his own desk, switched on the computer.

"Have we already decided what to do next?" he wanted to know.

In that moment Voight came out of his office, looked around.

"Good, everyone's here," he noticed. "Then we should get down to business. Halstead, you and I will talk to Delucci. The others, you contact everyone involved. Upton and Burgess, Ruzek and Atwater. We've got more names, we need to get more information. Hit it."

Jay stood up again, followed Voight outside.

"So, where's Lindsay?" Jay asked Voight, as soon as they were in the car.

"Not part of this investigation, Jay," Voight answered. "You got a problem with that?"

"No, Sarge," Jay backed off. "I …"

"She's staying at my place, Jay. She wants to know what happened to her mother, so I will keep her informed." Voight said. "Do you have a problem, Jay?"

"No, Sarge," Jay confirmed. "It's just…"

"Jay, I know exactly what this is. Concentrate on the case. Your relationships have no place in this."

"I know, Sarge." Jay just said.

* * *

Delucci's house was empty, nobody answered the door, no movement inside. Jay checked out the back, and from the garden he could see that all doors and windows were locked. No traces of anybody in and around the house at all. As they had no apparent reason to enter the house yet; for the moment this was another dead end.

"And what now, Sarge?" Jay wondered. "Shall I open the door, or shall I ask around in the neighborhood?"

"No, I know who we can talk to. Drive."

They drove to Voight's Social Club, where Voight immediately approached an old man.

"Carmine," he greeted the man.

"Hank, always nice to see you."

Jay stood back, listened and watched the room, while Voight sat down with Carmine. _Why exactly did he want me to come?_ Jay wondered._ Only to tell me to keep my private stuff out of my job? Is he trying to warn me or watching out for me? _He could never get used to only getting part of the information from his boss.

"What can I do for you, Hank?" Carmine asked. "You don't come here for a social visit, when you have your watchdog with you."

"Carmine, you still know a lot of people," Voight said. "And we talked about Bunny Fletcher's murder the other day. Now, we still haven't found Marconi or Delucci. Any idea where they are or who might know?"

The old man slowly shook his head. "Let me think. You might want to try Delucci's cousin, Bill. He owns the garage right around the corner. If Delucci himself can't be found anywhere, Bill might know. And I'm pretty sure they do business together; the garage has a lot of storage space. Regarding Marconi, I already told you what I know."

"OK, we will check him out," Voight answered. "Thanks, old friend."

* * *

Back in the car, Voight called the other members of Intelligence to join them outside of Bill Delucci's garage. They might need more people to interrogate everyone working there and to check the area.

As soon as everyone had arrived, Voight, Jay and Hailey entered the premises from the front, Adam, Kevin and Kim went around the block to enter through the back yard.

When the three of them entered showing their badges, immediately two men tried to duck out of sight and move away, but Adam and Kim stopped them right away.

"Chicago PD," Voight announced their presence. "Everyone keep calm, we just want information."

A middle-aged man in working clothes approached. "I'm the owner, what can we do for you?"

"Are you Bill Delucci?" Voight asked.

He nodded.

"Sergeant Hank Voight, Chicago PD." Voight introduced himself. "We need information about your cousin, Frank."

The unit spread out, Jay, Hailey, Adam and Kim talked to the other men in the room, while Kevin was out of sight completely.

"I haven't seen my cousin for weeks," Delucci said. "We rarely see each other."

"I was told different," Voight remarked. "I was told you do business together."

Delucci opened his mouth but was interrupted by a loud yell from Kevin.

"Sarge, over here!"

Voight looked at Jay. "Halstead, make sure nobody leaves. Upton, with me."

Jay casually took out his gun, signaling that everybody stayed where they were; Hailey went with Voight.

"What is it, Atwater?" Voight asked.

Kevin didn't reply until Voight and Hailey were closer. "Sarge, we have a body."

Hailey took out her phone, opened a photo as they were approaching Kevin and the body, which was lying in a corner behind a steel door.

"Looks like Marconi," Hailey concluded after comparing the photo to the body.

"Atwater, you go join the others. We need to bring everybody in for interrogation. Upton, you call the techs and patrol, and then join the others, too. You all check the premises again, check for surveillance cameras, any evidence."

"Copy that."

They put handcuffs on the five men in the other room, had a look around the rest of the building, and as soon as the crime techs and patrol arrived, Intelligence drove back to 21st.

Voight and Jay took Bill Delucci with them, the other men would be brought back by the patrol officers.

* * *

Bill Delucci was led into one of the interrogation rooms right away. Voight and Jay went inside with him.

"My friend, you're in trouble," Voight said when sitting down.

Bill didn't reply.

"And I would recommend you cooperate," Voight continued.

"I don't even know why I'm here. I have not done anything wrong." Bill said.

"We found a body in your garage," Jay answered. "I'm pretty sure someone did something wrong."

"I don't know anything about a body."

"The body in your back room?" Jay said. "It's your garage. You're our prime suspect."

"In which room exactly did you find this body?" Bill wanted to know.

Jay scoffed. "Nice try. The one behind the big steel door, which was unlocked."

"I haven't been there for the last few days, I don't know anything about a body," Bill repeated, clearly unwilling to say anything else.

"Well, perhaps a night in one of our holding cells will change your mind," Voight decided, stood up. "Halstead, bring him downstairs."

The interrogation of his workers didn't bring any new results. The two guys who had tried to escape turned out to have no papers but were otherwise not in any systems, had no priors. All were put into holding overnight as well. All Intelligence could do right now was wait for the results from the crime techs, surveillance footage, and the morgue.


	5. Chapter 5

After work, Jay and Hailey left the precinct together, laughing and talking, when they stopped dead in their tracks on the stairs. Erin stepped out of a parked car and approached them hastily.

Automatically Hailey took a step backwards, eyed Erin suspiciously.

Erin briefly nodded in Hailey's direction, clearly indicating she didn't want her near, then approached Jay.

"Hey," she said. "Want a coffee?"

"No, I don't," Jay answered bluntly.

Erin was wearing a tight, quite revealing shirt, tight denims. A sight he would have found irresistible just a few years ago. Right now, it left him uninterested. Still, he suddenly felt the heat, wiped the sweat off his forehead. He just wanted this encounter to be over.

"What do you want, Erin?"

"Are there any news on the case?" she asked. "I would like to talk to you, alone."

* * *

Hailey was relieved to spot Kevin leaving 21st, too, and walked towards him. "Kev, would you mind driving me home?" she asked. "Jay's busy."

"Sure thing," Kevin answered, looking in Jay and Erin's direction.

"Thanks." With a quick glance back at Jay, Hailey followed Kevin to his car.

In the car, Kevin looked at Hailey. "Are you sure?"

"No, I am not," Hailey answered briefly.

"Want to go back?"

"Yes, but I won't."

"It will be ok," Kevin reassured her. "Trust him."

"Kev, I trust him," Hailey answered with a weak half-smile. "It's Erin I don't trust."

* * *

Jay watched Hailey leave, his heart sank. He would have to talk to Erin eventually, he knew that. He shrugged. "What is it you want to talk about?"

"Could we sit down for a coffee?"

"Where do you want to go? I'll meet you there."

That was not was Erin was expecting, she wanted the two of them to drive together, which was exactly what Jay wanted to avoid. He wanted to make sure that he could leave whenever he wanted to. Which ideally would be in this exact same moment, he thought to himself.

Understanding that he wouldn't drive with her in her car, Erin gave him the address of a coffee shop nearby, and both drove off separately.

Just a few minutes later, Jay sat down in a comfortable chair in the coffee shop, holding to his cup of hot coffee. Was there no AC in here? he wondered nervously. He tried to appear calm, cool. Erin sat down opposite him, looking at him inquiringly and leaning in towards him.

"What is it, Jay?" she asked. "Why are you evading me?"

Jay scoffed. "What do you think?"

"Jay, I know I made a mistake, but I want to make it up to you. Jay, I still..."

"No, Erin, stop!" Jay said, coldly. "I won't let you do this."

"Do what?"

Jay shook his head. "Exactly that. I won't let you take the lead on this. Erin, you broke my heart back then when you just left without a word. Are you aware of that? Are you aware of how I felt? Did you even care?"

"Jay, of course I cared. But I didn't have a choice," she pleaded. "I had to leave. And if I had talked to you, I wouldn't have been able to go through with it. But I couldn't stay. The Feds had me cornered. My mom..."

"Yeah, right." Jay answered. "Listen, Erin. Don't play me. Don't look at me like this. It has taken a long time for me to get over this whole mess, and I made a lot of mistakes, hurt a lot of people during this process. But I'm better now, so much better. You just came here because your mother was killed. If not for that, you would still be gone. And now you think you can make up just like that? Just because you're in town anyway? Passing through? That won't happen. Please, let it go. Leave me alone."

With that, he stood up, drank the last of his coffee, put the mug on the table heavily and left, leaving behind a perplexed Erin.

It was not how he had planned this to go, but he wasn't going to be dragged into another mess.

* * *

Hailey arrived at her house, very unsure if she had done the right thing, when she left Jay with Erin. When she had said that she trusted Jay, she hadn't been lying. But Erin? Did she still have power over Jay? They had been on and off for quite a long time, and Jay had loved her. She knew and accepted that. When she had vanished, Jay had suffered badly. How would he react now? Would he allow this to drag him down again, even though he had promised this wouldn't happen? Was there anything she could do to help him? He had been there for her all the time; would he allow her to be there for him now?

She poured herself a whisky and sat down on the couch. Probably not the wisest choice to have a drink right now, but she didn't plan on getting drunk. She just wanted a sip, to help her calm down her nerves. She switched on the TV, without noticing what was on, she just stared at the screen, curled up in a ball in the corner of her couch. Her mind was racing, playing out all possible scenarios of what could happen with Jay and Erin. What if this was it? What if Jay would leave her and go back to be with Erin? After these last months, when he had been there for her, and when they had been happy together? Hailey knew she had no reason to think like that, but she just couldn't let go. She was scared. She didn't want to lose Jay.

Eventually she fell asleep.

When she woke up it was dark outside. She was still alone, the only light coming from the TV. No sign of Jay anywhere. What was happening? Was he still with Erin? Had he run away? Had all his issues from back then resurfaced? Why was he not here with her? She should not have let him leave with Erin! She should have been there, by his side!

She stood up, walked around her living room, switched on a light, switched off the TV, got another shot of whisky, sat down again in her corner of the couch. Now clearly worried. More worried about him that she wanted to admit to herself.

After a while she fell into an exhausted sleep again.

* * *

Jay left the coffee shop, his mind in turmoil. Had he done the right thing? Should he perhaps have let Erin say all she wanted to say? Perhaps that would have given them some closure. Should he have told her more of what had happened to him? And why hadn't he told her that he was with Hailey, that he was happy with Hailey, that he loved Hailey? Told her that what he had with Hailey was the best thing that had ever happened to him? Why on earth was he afraid? And what exactly was he afraid of?

He started the car, drove. He was too agitated to drive home right away, so he drove aimlessly through the streets, without even noticing where he was. Eventually he stopped the car in a parking lot by lake. He stared out at the water for what seemed like hours, didn't even notice how it got darker. He wouldn't even be able to tell what he was thinking about, his mind kept wandering.

And suddenly he noticed that it was almost midnight. He thought of Hailey, realized that she must be worried sick that he still wasn't home. He must have been gone for hours. Poor Hailey. That wasn't fair to her. He started the car hastily and drove to Hailey's place as fast as he could. He had promised her not to do anything stupid, and here he was, letting her wait for him without even calling her. What an idiot he could be.

When he arrived at Hailey's place, he ran to the door, could barely stop himself from shouting out her name. The lights in the living room were on, but he didn't hear anything. He let himself in and quietly entered the living room. There she was, lying on the couch, in a shirt and panties only. His heart felt like it was about to explode with a sudden rush of emotion. Seeing her there, sleeping like this, curled up, with disheveled hair, that was about the sweetest and sexiest sight he could imagine. He was right where he wanted to be.

He approached her, placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Hailey didn't wake up. He noticed the glass, still some whisky inside. Nervous, he emptied it. He turned to Hailey again, who had not woken up yet. He decided that he would bring her to bed, so he took her up in his arms, carried her upstairs. Instinctively she leaned her head against his chest, now slowly waking up.

When he placed her on the bed, she opened her eyes. "You're back," she noticed, smiling softly. "I was worried."

"Yes, I am back," he answered. "Sorry it took so long. I am so sorry I made you worry. I wasn't with Erin the whole time," he hurried to tell her.

"Ssshh," Hailey just shook her head. "I'm not saying you were. I'm just so glad you're here now. Want to talk about it?"

"No, not right now," Jay shook his head. "I was with her only for five minutes or so. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, I promise. Right now, I don't want to talk." He undressed and spread out next to Hailey. "I don't want to think about her. I want to be with you, and nobody else."

"Copy that," Hailey smiled, relieved. She caressed his chest, felt the tension slowly go away, making way for a warm feeling of sheer happiness. He was back, that was all that counted.


	6. Chapter 6

In the morning, Jay and Voight took another chance with Bill Delucci. Adam and Kim hadn't arrived yet.

That left Hailey alone in the office with Kevin for a while.

Kevin looked at her inquiringly. "You ok?"

"Yes, Kev, I am."

"No disruptions? Jay ok too?"

Hailey smiled. "Yes, Kevin, Jay is ok, too. We are better than ok."

"Listen, Hailey," he said. "You know, Erin is not a bad person."

Hailey held up her hands. "Kev, I know that. But I don't want her to hurt Jay again."

"I hear you," Kevin answered, obviously wanting to say more, but in this moment Kim and Adam arrived, and he decided to be quiet. Hailey nodded at him gratefully.

* * *

Meanwhile Jay and Voight were already interrogating Bill Delucci a second time. Jay was standing in the corner, cross-armed. Voight was sitting opposite Bill, looking at him intently.

"You still insist that you don't know anything about the body in your garage?"

Bill nodded. "I told you yesterday, I don't know what you are talking about."

"It's your garage, so given the circumstances, you murdered him."

Bill stared at Voight, very much unsure of what to do. Finally the implications of what had happened seemed to get through to him.

"But I didn't do anything. I don't use that room. Don't even have a key. "

"And you think we believe that and let you go? Just like that?" Jay insisted. "Don't you even want to know who was killed in your garage? Or do you know already?"

"No!" Bill almost shouted. "Who is it then?"

"It's Johnny Marconi," Voight answered. "The guy we were looking for. The guy whose girlfriend was murdered too."

Bill's eyes widened in shock. "No, no, no! I've got nothing to do with that."

"So you know Johnny Marconi?"

"I have heard of him," Bill admitted. "But I don't know who killed him. I have no reason to kill him, I never had business with that guy."

"Then who has?" Jay asked. "Who was in the back room? Who had access to the room? We are currently going through the footage of all surveillance cameras and checking the area for prints, so you should come clean. Right now, you're our prime suspect."

One could literally see Bill Delucci's brain working, before he answered.

"Listen, I didn't murder anyone," he said.

"Then tell us, who did?" Voight asked, very calm.

"I don't know. I don't even know Marconi that well. My cousin, Frank, he and Marconi do business together."

"Did you see your cousin recently?" Voight asked. "I won't ask again."

"He was in the garage two days ago, when I arrived for work in the morning."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Jay commented.

"He came from the back rooms, perhaps he was in there."

"And where is he now?" Voight insisted.

"I don't know," Bill repeated. "At home?"

Jay shook his head.

"OK, he has a lady friend. The family doesn't know."

"Name and address!" Voight pushed a pen and a piece of paper across the table. "Write it down. Write down everything you can remember. And we might let you go after all."

Bill Delucci nodded eagerly. Voight and Jay exchanged a quick glance and left the interrogation room.

* * *

In the office, the other four members of intelligence went through the data they had gathered the day before. Adam and Kevin checked the surveillance videos, Hailey was on the phone with the crime lab, Kim was going through the police databases to look for all possible information about Bill Delucci's employees.

None of the employees had any connections to Marconi or to Frank Delucci. They would be interrogated one more time today and then probably could leave.

The surveillance cameras were more interesting, though. After half an hour Adam assembled the other three around his computer screen.

"Look at this," he said, pointing to the screen. "This is from two days ago."

They watched a video taken from a camera in the street behind the garage, early in the morning. Two men walked across the street, towards the garage, entered by a back door. The area was in shadows, they could hardly recognize anything. Both men had their backs to the cameras most of the time. They were dressed in ordinary clothes, nothing significant, both had dark hair. Approximately 45 minutes after they had entered the garage, one man came outside again. For several hours nothing else happened in this part of the street. The second man didn't leave the garage through the back door. The cameras on the front side didn't show anybody entering or leaving either until two hours later, when Bill Delucci and his employees came to work.

"So we know now that two men entered the garage, only one left." Kim concluded. "One could be Marconi, it fits with the height, looks, time of death. But the other? It could be anyone."

"Do we have their phones? Can we track where they were at that time?" Adam suggested.  
"I'll check," Hailey volunteered and picked up her phone.

"What about their cars? Do we see them anywhere?" Kim asked.

"I haven't seen the plates yet," Kevin answered. "No camera showed any cars registered to Marconi or Frank Delucci."

"But do we know if they used their own cars at all?" Kim continued. "I mean, we couldn't locate any of their cars near Marconi's house, where Bunny was murdered."

"There are a lot of cars in the garage," Adam said. "Frank Delucci could have taken any of these. Let's get a list of all cars that are currently there."

Unfortunately, Hailey was unable to have the phones located for the evening in question, no more information here.

Now they needed to go back to the garage, get their order files.

* * *

When Voight and Jay came back from the interrogation, both groups exchanged what they had learned in the meantime.

Before they could agree on who would do what, however, their discussion was interrupted, when Erin stormed up the stairs.

"You have someone in custody?" she asked. "Is he the one who killed my mother? Can I see him?"

Everyone looked at her, surprised.

Jay reacted first, he shook his head, then grabbed his keys, badge and gun, and left. Immediately Hailey stood up, followed him. "We're going back to the garage," she quickly explained before running after Jay.

Jay was already gone, when Hailey arrived downstairs. Trudy pointed towards the door, Hailey nodded a quick thank you.

She ran outside, and saw Jay heading for the car. Before he could drive off, she managed to open the door on the passenger side and jump in.

"Hey, don't run away without me," she joked.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize..."

"We're driving to Delucci's garage," Hailey decided. "That's what I told the others. Better than telling them that we don't want to deal with Erin."

Jay breathed out loud. "Thank you." He smiled at Hailey. "You're my savior."

"Always, babe."

* * *

As discussed with the others earlier, Jay and Hailey drove to the garage once again, directly heading for the office. The place was deserted, as it was a crime scene, so they had to check all the files themselves. But they soon found a folder with lots of data and repair orders, which they decided to bring back to 21st. The computer was in the crime lab already.

Outside they took photos of all the cars that were still on the premises. They took their time, but still, in no more than an hour they were back at 21st.

* * *

Before they entered the precinct, however, Hailey held Jay back.

"Jay, if Erin's still there, don't run again, ok?"

He just looked at her. "I guess I shouldn't."

"Come on, let's head back inside."

Erin was no longer in the office; Adam, Kevin and Kim were busy at their desks, and Voight was in his own office.

Hailey explained to the others what they had found, and immediately picked up the phone to talk to the crime lab about the computer.

As soon as Voight noticed that they had come back, he stood in his door. "Halstead, my office."

That didn't sound good.

Jay followed his boss and closed the door. "Sarge?"

"Halstead, what do you think you're doing?" Voight asked, clearly impatient.

"Checking the garage again." Jay just said. "We had..."

"Halstead!" Voight interrupted him. "I told you several times before to keep your relationships out of the job."

Jay swallowed hard, but right now he was not in the mood to back down. Not this time.

"Hank, how can it be that whenever it concerns Lindsay, I'm the bad guy?" he almost yelled. "I mean, before we were a couple, you always warned me, and me alone, that you didn't approve of a relationship. And when we were together, I was the bad guy for trying to protect her. Something you had explicitly asked me to do. But when Erin didn't like that, I got the blame. I was told I could leave the unit, if I didn't like it. And now, I'm finally feeling good again. My and Hailey's relationship has not interfered with our jobs, not once. And suddenly Erin shows up and corners me, wants to… well, I don't know what she wants. I don't want to get into that again, and I try my best to avoid her. And now it's me who must keep his personal issues out of the unit? What exactly do you expect me to do?"

Jay had talked himself into rage, he turned around, opened the door and was about to leave. But he couldn't, as Hailey was standing right outside, about to enter.

Jay looked at her, calmed down instantly, stepped aside to let her in.

"Boss," Hailey said, very calm and as neutral as possible. "This concerns me too."

Voight looked from one to the other. "I guess it does."

"Sarge, I shouldn't have yelled," Jay said. "Apologies for that. But this is how it looks to me. I know you have a history with Erin, but I'm sick of taking the blame."

Hailey put a hand on his arm.

Voight looked down, thinking about what he had just heard.

"Hm," he uttered.

"Sarge, we have kept our relationship out of our work, you can't deny that," Hailey said. "Don't blame Jay."

"Hm," Voight repeated. "Maybe you're right."

"Sarge, I don't want to fight with Erin," Jay said, calm now. "But I don't know what else I can do. I already told her to let it go. I don't want to go through all this again. Please accept that."

"I'll talk to Lindsay," Voight said. "But you two act like grown-ups. Don't storm out again if she shows up."

"We'll do that," Hailey answered. "Thank you, Sarge."

Jay looked at Hailey thankfully, put a hand on her back, when they left Voight's office.


	7. Chapter 7

Erin hadn't left the precinct, she had been talking to other people in the meantime. She reappeared upstairs, just when Jay had opened one of the binders that he had taken from the garage. He managed to barely look up when Erin stood in the office again, kept calm otherwise. He was determined not to give Voight a reason to reprimand him again.

There was tension in the office, everyone was waiting for something to happen.

What happened, though, was that Hailey, who had started reviewing the computer files from the garage, asked Jay to come her desk. Jay rolled his chair over to her, put the binder on her desk. "What have you found?"

He sat very close to her.

"Look," Hailey pointed at the screen. "These are the cars that were in the garage for repair work. And here are the photos we took earlier."

Jay compared the data, and seemingly casually he put his arm on the back of her chair. They exchanged a quick smile, then both turned back to the computer screens. This small exchange clearly showed to everyone who watched it what kind of relationship these two had, obvious to everyone, including Erin. And it was exactly meant to be that way.

Erin raised her eyebrows, understanding instantly. A sarcastic little smile appeared on her lips, but she didn't comment. She went into Voight's office with her former boss, asking again for news on the case.

Jay's hand remained comfortably on Hailey's chair while they worked on the data, comparing photos, data from the computer and the papers. Several cars had been in the garage for the last few days, but there were a few, which according to the surveillance videos hadn't been there during the time of Bunny Fletchers's murder. And some cars that should still be there, were still not back. They decided to go through surveillance footage of the area around Marconi's house once again, searching specifically for these four vehicles.

And finally, they found something. One of the cars was on video the morning they had found Bunny Fletcher's body, in a street not far away from the scene.

"Zoom this in closer," Jay suggested. "Perhaps we can see who the driver was."

Hailey nodded, zoomed the image in. It was very early, barely dawn, so the light wasn't too good. But they got an image, could recognize a male driving the car.

"Let me see Frank Delucci's photo, please," Hailey requested. "Now let's have a look."

Both looked closer. Hailey tried her best to improve the quality of the picture, and in the end, they agreed that the driver was indeed Frank Delucci.

"Guys, did anyone already check out the address of Delucci's lady-friend that his cousin gave us?" Jay asked the others.

"No, we were about to agree the next steps with Voight just before you came back," Adam said. "Why?"

"Well, we can place him near our crime scene at approximately 6 am on Monday morning," Jay explained. "We've got ourselves an actual suspect."

"I'll go get Voight," Adam stood up.

Voight and Erin came out of his office immediately, when Adam knocked. Erin directly left the precinct, Voight stood in the doorway.

"I see, we all got back to our case," he remarked. "What is it?"

Jay briefly explained what they had found, what they planned to do next.

"Good," Voight agreed. "Finally, we are getting somewhere. Halstead, Upton – you check out Frank Delucci's girlfriend. The others – interrogate the employees, and if that doesn't give us any results, take another deep dive into everyone we can find connected to Frank Delucci. We need to find this guy. We haven't got fingerprints from the crime scenes, but we have DNA. Frank's fingerprints are on file, but not his DNA. So we need to find him and get his DNA. And a motive would be helpful as well to get a conviction. Why did he kill Bunny and Marconi?"

"Copy that." Jay and Hailey stood up, relieved that for the moment the tension in the office was gone, and glad they could do something.

* * *

As soon as they were in the car, Jay looked at Hailey. "Thanks for saving my ass up there," he said.

Hailey laughed. "Anytime, partner. I kind of like your ass…" She paused, then continued more seriously: "I think you were right, by the way."

Jay flashed her a big smile. "You think so? It would have been wiser to not yell at my boss, however."

"That may be true," she admitted. "Hey, and thank you too."

"For what?"

"You know exactly for what," she replied with a grin. "The little sign of affection up there."

"Oh that?" Jay laughed. "Anytime, partner."

* * *

It took them more than half an hour to drive to the house of Jean Franklin, Frank Delucci's "lady friend". They walked around the block at first, checking for any escape routes. They couldn't risk Delucci escaping through the back door while they were knocking at the front.

The backside of the house was surrounded by a wall and a high hedge, no gates or anything, and the only way to leave would be via the road in front of the house.

Hailey then knocked on the door, with Jay standing beside her, hand on his gun.

A woman in her thirties, expensively dressed, opened the door a bit.

"Ms. Franklin? Chicago PD, could we please talk to you?" Hailey asked.

"About what?" she asked suspiciously.

"We need to ask you a few questions regarding Frank Delucci," Hailey explained.

"Who?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Please, Ms. Franklin. You're seeing Mr. Delucci."

She sighed, opened the door. "Well, come in then."

"What do you want to know?" she asked, once they were in her living room.

"We are looking for Mr. Delucci," Hailey explained. "Can you help us?"

Jean Franklin shook her head. "Haven't seen him in ages."

"You know, I don't believe you," Jay said.

"Why? And why are you looking for him anyway?"

"Ms. Franklin, we are looking for Frank in connection with two murders." Hailey answered. "It would be advisable for you not to lie to us. Or do you prefer an obstruction charge?"

"When did you see him last?" Jay insisted. "Where is he?"

"I don't know where he is," she answered reluctantly. "He's not here all the time. I saw him on Tuesday, in the morning."

"OK," Hailey nodded. "What time?"

"10 am, approximately," Jean Franklin answered. "He seemed in a foul mood. Just came here, we … well, around noon he left again, with a bag of stuff that is usually here."

"Do you know where he went?"

"No, he didn't tell me. He never does."

"What car did he drive?" Jay wanted to know.

"I would assume his own. But I didn't look."

Hailey and Jay exchanged a look, then both stood up to leave. Hailey handed Jean Franklin her card. "Thanks for your help. And if you remember anything else, or if he calls you, contact us immediately."

* * *

Back at 21st, Jay issued a BOLO for Delucci's own cars and the missing cars from the garage.

They had a timeline for Frank Delucci now:

On Saturday, he had met with Marconi and Bunny Fletcher.

On Sunday, the day before Bunny Fletcher was murdered, he had had a fight with her.

On Monday morning he had been in the neighborhood of Marconi's house, around the time when Bunny Fletcher had been murdered.

On Tuesday morning, someone that could have been Frank Delucci, had entered Bill Delucci's garage with another person that probably was Marconi. Only the first person had left the building. Shortly after Marconi had been murdered, Delucci had showed up at his girlfriend's place and left around noon.

Since then, no trace of him.

They needed to find him; and they still needed to find a motive for the murders.

In the meantime, Kevin had compiled a more detailed list of Frank Delucci's relatives and all close business associates – basically anyone who knew him. Adam and Kim were out in the streets, contacting the first people on the list, but so far nobody knew or wanted to tell them where Delucci was. When Adam and Kim returned to the precinct, Voight decided they would check out more people in person in the morning. Perhaps the BOLO would give them some results, at least an idea which way to turn.

* * *

Jay and Hailey went home together, grateful that they could spend a relaxing evening together in front of the TV. After the night before both were tired and happy to do basically nothing this evening, simply enjoy each other's company. "Their Thing" was still going strong. As it happened often, they sat down together at Hailey's kitchen counter, a glass of whisky each, and talked. About the case, the day, everything that came into their minds. They still enjoyed and needed this to unwind after work. They didn't always need big words or long explanations, often a word or a glance was enough for them to understand each other.

"You yelled at Voight pretty badly today," Hailey said with a grin, sipping her whisky, picking up on the conversation from earlier that day.

"Probably not too wise," Jay grinned back.

"That's not unusual," Hailey laughed. "For you at least. Just be careful."

"I know," Jay admitted. "If I had done that to my superiors in the military, I would be toast."

"And you think Voight is softer than them?"

"No, definitely not." Jay laughed. "But I just had to get it out. I'm sick of this game. I thought it was over long time ago. And it was hard enough."

"I know, babe," Hailey nodded. "I know. And perhaps it was necessary to make Voight see it, too."

"Thank you for being there, Hailey."

"Always, you know that."

"I still find it hard to believe how lucky I am," Jay looked at her intensely.

"You better believe it. You've always been there for me too, that's what being partners, being a couple means."

"I guess I hit the jackpot in both departments," Jay smiled.

"Oh yes, you did." Hailey grinned back at him. "Don't forget it."


	8. Chapter 8

_[Thank you so much for all your positive reviews. I really enjoy all of them, you guys rock and keep me motivated to continue writing. __This is the last chapter already. It took me longer to write this story than it usually does, but I already have one or two new ideas. Perhaps I'll write another sequel to this journey. Enjoy]_

* * *

The BOLO finally gave them a new lead. On Friday morning, when the Unit assembled in the office again, two of the cars in question had been discovered. Delucci's own car was found not far away from his house. It had not been moved for a few days, so they would ignore it for the moment. The better lead was one of the cars taken from the garage. It had been spotted twice in a neighborhood close to Delucci's father-in-law and his family. Both sightings had taken place in the last two days, after the murders, so perhaps that was where Delucci was hiding.

Kevin forwarded the family's address to everyone in the unit, requested an expedited search warrant, and they were out in the street within a few minutes.

As it was unclear, how dangerous Delucci's family was, if they were armed, the unit left in full gear.

Right before they reached the neighborhood, the search warrant was available, and the team approached the house.

"Atwater, Ruzek, Burgess – you go around the back." Voight ordered. "Halstead, Upton – with me!"

Further agreements were not necessary.

Jay approached the door, knocked. "Chicago PD, open up!"

No reaction.

"Chicago PD, open up!" Jay repeated, louder.

Still nobody opened the door, but they heard noise inside. After checking with Voight, who just nodded, Jay kicked the door open.

He entered the house, gun drawn, closely followed by Hailey and Voight. Now they heard footsteps upstairs. Jay and Hailey understood each other blindly, so as soon as they noticed that their colleagues had come inside through the back door, they ran up the stairs. The others would search the ground floor.

Upstairs they followed the noise, which led them to a closed door. Very quietly they positioned themselves on both sides of the door, then Jay turned the doorknob. Gunshots answered this. With Hailey covering him, he quickly pushed the door open and ducked.

More shots were fired, Hailey fired back, yelled at the offender, who fell, hit by a bullet.

Jay rushed inside, checked the shooter's pulse. "He's alive. Call an ambo. It's Delucci." He kneeled beside the man, held him at gunpoint, while Hailey called the ambulance, then radioed Voight.

From downstairs more noise could be heard, yelling, fighting, but no gunshots. It was over quickly, however. The paramedics appeared in the door frame, and Jay stood up, stepped back a bit. "We shot this guy," he explained. "He's a murder suspect, so we need to ride with him to the hospital. And we've got a warrant for his DNA."

"Copy that, Halstead," Sylvie Brett, the paramedic in charge, replied.

"How serious is it?" Hailey wanted to know.

"Doesn't look too bad, from what I can see," Sylvie answered. "You hit the shoulder. Blood loss, but no major arteries were hit. He'll make it."

"Good," Jay said. "That means we can interrogate him later, and hopefully find out everything that happened. This case is a nightmare."

"Is he the one that murdered Erin's mom?" Sylvie asked.

"Yes," Hailey replied.

"I see."

Adam and Kevin had arrested another male. He wasn't armed but would be taken to the precinct anyway for interrogation. Any information to wrap the case would be welcome.

* * *

Jay and Hailey drove to Chicago Med following the ambulance, while the others drove back to 21st. When they arrived at Med, Jay approached his brother for further information, and Will gave them the details.

Delucci was brought into surgery immediately – his gunshot wound wasn't life-threatening, but he had lost consciousness, and they needed to operate immediately. Will suggested that Jay and Hailey should return to 21st, and he would let them know when Delucci would be awake for an interrogation.

* * *

It turned out that the person Adam and Kevin had arrested was not connected at all to the murders, he was just another relative of Delucci's at the wrong place at the wrong time. So he was set free after just one hour.

The killer was in custody, but still didn't have a motive. A motive was not crucial to get a conviction, but they wanted to be on the safe side, and they wanted to understand why he had murdered Bunny and Marconi. Delucci had done business with Marconi, and Bunny had been Marconi's girlfriend, but that was all they knew. So, as soon as Will called and told Jay that Delucci was awake, Jay and Voight were on their way back to Chicago Med.

They found Delucci in ICU cuffed to a hospital bed.

"You're awake," Voight stated the obvious.

"What do you want from me?" Delucci asked in an annoyed tone.

Jay read him his rights, explained that he was in custody for the murder of Barbara Fletcher and Johnny Marconi.

"Why? I didn't..." Delucci protested.

"Save it," Voight interrupted. "We can place you at both murder scenes. We have a warrant for your DNA. And I bet that when we compare your DNA to the samples from both murder scenes, it will be a match."

"I want a lawyer."

"Listen," Voight explained. "You will be convicted anyway. No lawyer can change that. The best you can do for yourself now is tell us what happened and why you killed them."

Delucci looked to the side, thinking.

"We know you killed Bunny Fletcher on Monday morning, and we know you killed Johnny Marconi on Tuesday." Jay said. "But what we don't know is why. You did business with Marconi. What went wrong? Did he threaten you?"

Delucci sighed, slightly annoyed. "The deal went south, when this bitch..."

"Stop it," Voight interrupted.

"All right..." Delucci continued. "Bunny tried to blackmail me."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Jay remarked. "Why did she blackmail you?"

"She threatened to tell Marconi that she had had an affair with me, too. Threatened to tell him that I raped her. Hell, I didn't need to rape her. That wasn't necessary."

Voight scoffed. "OK, what happened then?"

"She wanted more money, a bigger portion of the profits. She basically wanted all my share in the deal."

"What deal?"

"Gambling. In the back rooms of my bars."

"I see," Voight said. "And you didn't agree with that. So you killed her."

"Damn right I did," Delucci was getting angry. "I knew that Johnny had gone away to buy some stuff early Monday morning, and I confronted her. And she didn't give in, so..."

"So you shot her," Jay concluded the sentence. "And why did you kill Marconi?"

"Because he knew!" Delucci spat out. "He knew of the affair, and he knew I had killed her. He wanted to kill me. What do you expect me to do? Of course I defended myself."

"So it wasn't any big scheme, just a stupid affair gone wrong." Voight said with a sarcastic grin. "Let's go back to 21st, Jay."

* * *

Back in the car, Voight looked at Jay.

"Good job on this case, Halstead." he said. "Both you and Upton."

"Thanks, boss," Jay answered, not sure where this would lead.

"Jay, I thought about what you said yesterday," Voight continued. "You're right, I guess."

Jay raised his eyebrows, surprised. "I am?"

"Yeah, probably. Platt convinced me."

That was all Voight was going to say about this issue, Jay figured. He nodded. "Thanks, Boss." Better than nothing, and definitely more than Jay had expected.

* * *

When they arrived back at the station, Voight drove straight home, he wanted to give Erin the news. He left it to Jay to go upstairs and tell the others. But before he could walk up the stairs, Platt called him to her desk.

"Case closed?" she asked.

"Case closed." Jay confirmed.

"And you and Upton are ok?"

"No problems, Sarge," Jay grinned. "Thanks for your support."

"Right..." Trudy looked at him with her fake I-don't-care face. "Don't tell anyone. I will deny any involvement."

Jay laughed. "I know, Sarge. Thanks anyway. Highly appreciated."

"I know, Jay." Her voice softened ever so slightly, and she smiled at him, too.

* * *

They all agreed to meet at Molly's this evening. It had been a long week, and it had been difficult, especially for Jay and Hailey. They all needed to unwind.

Later, at Molly's the whole unit was gathered around a table, including Voight. Trudy Platt was sitting with Mouch, not far away. The atmosphere was relaxed. Jay had told Hailey what Voight and Platt had said earlier, and she noticed how much this meant to him. He had relaxed visibly, and Hailey was happy for him. She promised herself to thank both sergeants in person later, if they wanted to hear it or not. And that would hopefully be the end of discussing their relationship at work.

When Jay went to the bar to get drinks for the group, suddenly Erin stood at his side. He hadn't seen her enter Molly's, and he involuntarily flinched.

"Thank you for finding my mother's killer, Jay," she said. "I'm sorry I put you in a bad spot. I wanted to talk to you so bad."

Jay just looked at her.

"Jay, I'm sorry. I really want to make it up to you. I've always thought we were meant to be."

"No, Erin," Jay answered, very slow and very calm. "I used to think that too, but I don't anymore. We are not meant to be. We don't belong together. Our relationship was fun at times. And at times it was a nightmare. I know what a good and healthy relationship feels like now, because for the last few months I've been living in the best relationship I can imagine. Hailey's always there for me, and she allows me to be there for her. We trust each other, we have each other's backs, and we see eye to eye. I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Erin stared at him, more surprised than anything. "OK," she said. "I guess I have to accept that. Good bye then, Jay." She turned around, about to leave, then noticed Hailey, who had just come near. The two women nodded at each other, but neither said a word. Slowly Erin walked away and left Molly's.

"You heard?" Jay asked, quietly.

"I heard," Hailey confirmed. "I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I didn't want to interrupt you or interfere."

"So…"

Hailey took a step closer to Jay, smiled at him. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you too, Jay."

Jay put the drinks back on the bar. He smiled at Hailey, pulled her into a firm embrace. Hailey leaned against him, put her arms around his waist. It felt so good, so right, to be together.


End file.
